


milk foam hearts

by bespokenboy



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Cafe AU, College AU, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Soulmates AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 22:39:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3226094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bespokenboy/pseuds/bespokenboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Somewhere between sleep and reality, Joonmyun meets the boy of his dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	milk foam hearts

  
It's been a few nights in a row now. Joonmyun woke up with fresh tears moist on his cheeks and no idea of how they got there. His dream hadn't been a bad one. In fact, it had been a rather pleasant one because  _he_  was in it. The boy who had been haunting his dreams for the past several nights, although Joonmyun wouldn't exactly describe it as "haunting." It was more like the boy was there, and Joonmyun was content with him being there.   
  
Joonmyun couldn't recall the boy's exact features, but he knew he could recognize them if he saw him again. The boy was both soft and strong, somehow, but warm. So very warm. To Joonmyun, he felt like home.   
  
Each dream was different, even though the boy was always the same. In last night's dream, Joonmyun was resting his head in the boy's lap, nestled in his warmth. The boy was crooning a soft melody as he carded his fingers through Joonmyun's hair. Joonmyun strained to recall the melody the boy had been singing, but the only thing he remembered was the impression it left on him. It was too wistful to be a happy song, but it wasn't a particularly sad one either. It just left him feeling empty, somehow.   
  
As he laid in bed, not quite ready to face the day ahead, Joonmyun recalled the soft lilts of the boy's voice. He hadn't just sung to Joonmyun. He spoke to him, too. Joonmyun tried to grasp at the lingering wisps of his dream to remember what the boy had said, but his words faded like smoke. All Joonmyun could remember was that the boy had said a name. Joonmyun tried as hard as he could to repeat the name whispered to him, but it melted away on his tongue before he could form it on his lips.   
  
He heard a groan from across the room. If Jongin was rousing from his slumber, then it was definitely time for Joonmyun to get ready for class. He doused his face with splashes of ice cold water. Refreshing in a way, but also excruciating in the middle of winter. Unavoidable, however, in their creaky old dorm building. The hot water supply was as unreliable as Joonmyun's class attendance during one of his moods. He'd been trying to get better, though. He'd been trying so hard.   
  
Joonmyun smiled in defeat when he discovered he was the second student to enter the classroom. Jongdae was delighted to have beaten him again, even though Joonmyun had told him many times that there was really no competition between them. Joonmyun got up early to avoid a bustling campus, while Jongdae just wanted to beat him and impress Professor Zhang.   
  
He was sure that Jongdae spent more of the lecture memorizing Professor Zhang's curves than trying to remember the phases of mitosis. Either way, when Jongdae claimed to have a "very important question that would have to wait for after class," Joonmyun was sure to make a beeline to the exit. He couldn't risk witnessing the inevitable embarrassment.   
  
The frigid wind buffeted him from all directions as he trekked the barren landscape from the lecture hall to the cafe across the campus greens. Most people were huddled inside; few had even braved the elements to attend class. The snow beneath Joonmyun's feet froze his toes through his sneakers, and the pervasive chill bit at the tips his ears, whipping his cheeks bright red.   
  
It was with trembling, numb fingers that Joonmyun finally opened the door and staggered into the cafe. He didn't know why he came here instead of going to the library, which was closer to the lecture hall, or to his dorm, which had a fireplace in the common room. It was nearly empty, almost eerily so, but it was a warm place to sit and unthaw.   
  
Joonmyun closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet aromas of hot chocolate, coffee, and mocha, imagining the steam curling up into his face. He flinched when he heard the girl behind the counter clear her throat lightly.   
  
"Excuse me, sir, but can I help you?"  
  
There was no one else in the cafe, so Joonmyun couldn't seek refuge unnoticed like he usually did. He loved the cafe, loved its warm, friendly atmosphere, loved its comforting scent. He never spoke to anyone, neither the staff nor the other customers, but it always felt like home. Buying an actual item off the menu, however, was a luxury Joonmyun could not afford to make a habit of. His father only sent him the bare minimum he could use to survive, so he had to learn how to live humbly.   
  
However, it would be rude of him to have only come to the cafe for warmth, as the cashier girl seemed to be assuming. Joonmyun scrounged up a handful of coins from his pockets, just enough for the cheapest item on the menu, a small coffee served black.  
  
"If you could please find a seat, someone will bring your order to you." She handed Joonmyun a little flag with the number 4 on it for him to set on his table. As if he wasn't the only one in the cafe.   
  
A few minutes later, someone placed a large, steaming mug of cappuccino in front of him, complete with a foam sculpture of a heart floating at the surface.   
  
"I...I didn't order this," Joonmyun mumbled, wondering if they would still make him pay for the extravagant drink and wondering how he could afford it. His eyes were cast downwards, but they snapped up at the sound of a warm, confident voice.   
  
"I know. But you looked like you needed a cappuccino."  
  
Joonmyun felt hands on top of his own, guiding them towards the cappuccino mug. His fingers were still numb from the cold, but they were slowly regaining sensation sandwiched between the warm ceramic and the fingers of the boy now sitting across the table from him.   
  
It was startling, but Joonmyun wasn't bothered by the boy's unwarranted touch for some reason. The boy's smile was warm, and his eyes twinkled softly.   
  
He withdrew his hands from Joonmyun's and pushed the mug towards him. "Come on, just try a sip, won't you?"  
  
Joonmyun hesitated, but lifted the mug to his lips without taking his eyes off the other boy.   
  
"Thank you," Joonmyun whispered with a question in his eyes.   
  
"I'm Luhan. But you can call me Lu-ge if you want," he said, as though reading Joonmyun's mind. Luhan smiled kindly at him. "And you are?"  
  
"Kim Joonmyun."  
  
"Ah, and you look every inch like it."  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Joonmyun couldn't help but giggle. This stranger, Luhan, was being so odd. Joonmyun wasn't used to anyone treating him like this.   
  
"Say, Joonmyun," Luhan began, veering away from Joonmyun's question, "do you believe in love at first sight?"  
  
The unexpected question took Joonmyun by surprise, and he promptly choked on his cappuccino, scalding his throat. Luhan was immediately by his side, gathering Joonmyun in to his chest and pounding his back with the heel of his palm.   
  
After Joonmyun's coughs subsided, Luhan held him at arms' length and asked if he was alright. Joonmyun wheezed and nodded, settling back down into his seat. Luhan excused himself and came back a minute later with a bottle of water. Joonmyun tried to refuse it, knowing how overpriced water bottles were in cafes, but Luhan cracked the lid open and all but shoved it in Joonmyun's face.   
  
"On me," he promised solemnly. "The cappuccino, too."  
  
"Really?" Joonmyun asked incredulously. "But...why?"  
  
"Do you believe in love at first sight, Joonmyun?" he asked again.   
  
"I'm not sure...maybe I would if I experienced it... But I don't even know if I've experienced it or not." Joonmyun didn't know why he was telling this to Luhan, since it isn't anything he's ever talked about out loud before. Then again, nobody has asked Joonmyun about this kind of thing before, either.   
  
"Have you ever looked at anyone and immediately thought, I must have her. Or him. And suddenly, they're all you can think about and all you want is for them to be happy and to see their smile again?"  
  
"Um, I don't know about the rest, but I've definitely felt the first part."  
  
"Is that so, Joonmyun? Now who was lucky enough to win over your heart?"  
  
"A slice of tiramisu."  
  
Luhan started laughing, and Joonmyun felt an idiotic grin spreading across his face.   
  
"Joonmyun, your smile is so beautiful."  
  
The doe-eyed boy was watching him intently with a soft smile, and Joonmyun felt his own smile shrink around the corners.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked, a little uncomfortable. They had only met, but Luhan was showering him with attention already.   
  
"I'm Lu-ge, of course!" he laughed, offering his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Joonmyun!"  
  
When Joonmyun didn't accept his handshake, Luhan reached across the table and took his hand anyways. Joonmyun's first instinct was to recoil, but Luhan kept a firm grip on him, and Joonmyun found that he didn't mind the boy's smooth, warm hands.   
  
As Joonmyun sipped at his cappuccino, he couldn't take his eyes off Luhan, as though the boy would dissolve like the foam on his tongue.   
  
He sipped the rest of the cappuccino, and it left a bittersweet aftertaste. Like waking up to reality after a pleasant dream. He knew he couldn’t stay at the cafe for much longer, especially after finishing his drink. The cafe was still empty, but he couldn’t risk the owner coming out to see Joonmyun holding hands with an employee, even though the girl behind the counter didn’t seem to mind. If Luhan got into trouble, Joonmyun didn’t want to be the one to cause it.  
  
“Isn’t it strange,” Luhan mused, interrupting Joonmyun's mental back-and-forth.   
  
“Drinking a warm beverage is supposed to give you the same physical sensations as receiving a hug, as they both fill you with warmth. And if it has caffeine, like the espresso in your cappuccino here, it’s supposed to make your heart beat faster and give you a rush of euphoria, too. Kind of like falling in love, right, Joonmyun?”  
  
“I...I suppose.”  
  
“And yet, people spend their entire lives looking for other people who will make them feel how a cappuccino could make them feel in a matter of minutes.”  
  
“I don’t think that’s the exact same thing…”  
  
“Is that so?” Luhan's eyes twinkled in amusement. “But what about you, Joonmyun? If you came back to this cafe, would it be for a mug of cappuccino, or for the person who made it?”  
  
“I can’t afford cappuccino,” Joonmyun mumbled, feeling his face heat up.   
  
He wasn’t used to people saying things like this to him. Luhan was all kinds of strange. Joonmyun should be suspicious, since no one is ever this nice to him. No one has ever looked at Joonmyun with that much glowing fondness, especially not anyone who had known him for a matter of minutes. But Joonmyun was so tempted to let his guard down, just for once.   
  
Luhan glanced around the room theatrically, as though checking for eavesdroppers. He lowered his voice confidentially and whispered, “That doesn’t matter. As long as I’m here, you can have whatever you want, okay?”  
  
“But...why?” Joonmyun blurted out.  
  
The other boy paused for consideration, and then admitted, “Maybe it’s selfish of me, but I don’t like seeing you sad, Joonmyun.”  
  
“Sad?”   
  
There wasn’t anything that Joonmyun was particularly sad about, nothing extremely traumatic or worrisome in his life, but he couldn’t exactly say that he was happy, either. He was just submerged in a quiet kind of melancholy that might as well have just been a part of his personality at this point.   
  
Luhan chuckled awkwardly, looking down at the table. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “it was rude of me to assume you were sad. It’s just that...out of all the times you’ve been to this cafe, I’ve only seen you smile once.”  
  
Joonmyun’s heart lurched and froze altogether. Luhan had seen him before? Today had been the first time Joonmyun had ever seen him, he was sure of it. Luhan’s features were too distinctive to fade from his memory. But something about Luhan’s presence was unexplainably familiar to Joonmyun, even though his face was not. Then again, Joonmyun had a hard time noticing anybody, the way he always kept his eyes on the ground.  
  
He tried to recall a time in which he had been happy enough in the cafe to smile. He always came alone, and the cafe’s comforting atmosphere always made him feel a little less alone. Not exactly happy, though.   
  
Except for once, a few months ago, when Joonmyun bought a mug of cappuccino for the first time. He was scolded by his father for wasting money on unnecessary snacks. He only came to the cafe to study after that. Had Luhan really known him for that long?  
  
“How about it, Joonmyun?” Luhan asked gently. “Will you give me the chance to see your smile again? To make you yummy drinks?”  
  
Joonmyun chewed on his bottom lip to hide his smile, then nodded shyly. "I have to go now," he whispered.   
  
Luhan squeezed his hand and said, "Thank you, Joonmyun. That would make me very happy."  
  
  
  
  
Again, Joonmyun woke up with his heart aching in a pleasant kind of way. There were tears on his cheeks when he touched his face, and he struggled to remember why. It must have been the dream again. The boy was in his dream again, too. They talked in the dream, and they touched, but Joonmyun couldn’t remember exactly what they talked about. He could only recall the vaguest impressions of warmth and meaning like footprints on sand just before they’ve been washed away. The boy had told him that they would see each other again, soon, Joonmyun could remember that much.   
  
Joonmyun sat up in bed as soon as he realized that  _he could remember_. For the first time since his recurring dream started, Joonmyun could grasp onto an idea this concrete. And for some reason, that brief shadow of meaning filled him with conviction.   
  
Somehow, he found himself back at the cafe. He had walked out of his dorm purposefully but without knowing exactly where to go, and his feet had led him there. Joonmyun grasped on the frozen door handle and pulled. It didn't give, the door was locked. Shivering, Joonmyun realized that he was still wearing his pajamas. He looked around. It was thankfully early enough that nobody else was outside.   
  
He should have returned to his dorm for clothes more appropriate for fending off the chill, but he just crouched outside of the cafe, making himself as small as possible. It felt like he was coming so close to an epiphany of sorts, and he didn't want to turn back, not when he was so close to understanding. What exactly he was trying to understand, Joonmyun wasn't sure, but–  
  
"Hey!" a voice called out, disrupting his thoughts.   
  
Joonmyun looked up and saw that it was Luhan, whose eyes widened in recognition.  
  
“What are you doing here so early?” Luhan asked. He jogged up to unlock the door, leading Joonmyun inside by the hand. “We don’t open for another half hour. And why are you still in your pajamas?”  
  
Before Joonmyun could answer, he felt warm hands cradling his cheeks.  
  
“Your face is so cold. How long were you out there for?”  
  
“Not long,” Joonmyun replied, shivering.  
  
Luhan smiled sadly and took his own coat off to zip it around Joonmyun.  
  
“I’ll be back with something warm for you to drink, just wait here a few minutes.”  
  
As Joonmyun sat in a booth with his hands tucked between his thighs to keep them warm, he couldn’t stop thinking about his dream. This cafe reminded him of it, somehow. The way it made him feel a little less lonely, but still wistful for something just out of his grasp.   
  
A few minutes later, Luhan returned with a freshly brewed café au lait and sat down in the booth right next to Joonmyun, so close that their knees bumped. He blew gently across the surface before handing it to Joonmyun, who closed his eyes and inhaled the fragrant steam. When he opened them, he saw another heart sculpted with milk foam floating in the creamy liquid.   
  
“So what brought you here again this early in the morning?” Luhan asked as Joonmyun sipped at his drink. “Were you waiting for me or something?”  
  
“I had a dream about you,” Joonmyun blurted out, before he even realized what his mouth was saying. Somehow, though, the words felt right.  
  
Luhan’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, and he let out a pleased little chuckle. “Is that so?”  
  
“Yeah,” Joonmyun whispered, as heat rushed to his cheeks.   
  
“Tell me about your dream, Joonmyun.”  
  
Joonmyun shook his head shyly. He didn’t want to alarm Luhan by telling him about the intimate things they had done in his dream, like cuddling and hugging.   
  
“Ohhh,” Luhan said with realization. “So was it  _that_  kind of dream?”  
  
The amused smirk playing at Luhan’s lips made Joonmyun blush even harder, and he shook his head furiously this time in embarrassment.   
  
“We did...things,” Joonmyun mumbled. “But not  _that_  kind of thing.”  
  
“What kind of things, then?” Luhan prompted teasingly. “This kind of thing?”  
  
Joonmyun turned his head towards Luhan to ask him what he meant, but he felt Luhan’s lips on his own before he could get the question out. Too surprised to close his eyes during the kiss, Joonmyun counted Luhan’s eyelashes as the older boy’s lips moved against his. And then Luhan pulled away hesitantly, with something like anticipation in his eyes.  
  
“Y-yeah,” Joonmyun squeaked. “That kind of thing.”  
  
“Good,” Luhan murmured, and he leaned in again.  
  
This time, Joonmyun remembered to close his eyes. In the darkness, he felt the tip of Luhan’s tongue part his lips in entrance, and he allowed himself to get even closer to Luhan. Their mouths melted together, slippery and soft, and Joonmyun crumpled Luhan’s shirt in his fist, just for something to hold onto.   
  
Joonmyun’s heart throbbed in his chest, and he gasped for breath after they pulled away for air. Luhan watched him softly and reached for Joonmyun’s hand, which was smooth and small, even compared to Luhan’s own. Joonmyun buried his face in Luhan’s neck and held him close by the waist to feel his warm and solid presence. Trying to make his dream last a little longer.


End file.
